


Written in the Stars

by fillorianravenclaw



Category: The Magicians (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Fluff, M/M, Pining, Romantic Soulmates, Slow Burn, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, oblivious Quentin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-16
Updated: 2019-07-31
Packaged: 2020-06-29 16:13:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19833796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fillorianravenclaw/pseuds/fillorianravenclaw
Summary: In a world where people are occasionally born with soulmate identifying marks, Quentin just happens to be one of them. The tiny deer that is imprinted on his wrist means very little to him, until the moment that he meets Eliot Waugh.





	1. prologue

When Quentin is born he has a tiny deer etched into the skin of his wrist.

*

When Quentin is five he asks his parents how it got there. They smile down at him softly and tell him it’s ‘nothing to worry about, darling’.

*

When Quentin is ten he hears talk of ‘soulmates’ for the first time. He sidles up to the two teachers discussing it without them noticing and listens as they talk in hushed whispers, only understanding half of what they’re saying.

Later, he asks his dad what soulmates are.

“When two people love each other very much,” his father explains softly. “Their love is written in the stars.”

A soft kiss is pressed to Quentin’s forehead and then he’s left alone.

*

When Quentin is twelve, he realises that he is, in fact, somebody’s soulmate - and they his. He doesn’t know how he never made the connection before, he doesn’t know anyone else with tiny animals imprinted on their skin.

When he gets home he confronts his parents about it, asks why they’d never bothered to tell him.

“It was for your own good, Quentin.” His mother tells him stiffly. _How?_ He wants to ask. But he doesn’t.

His father just looks guilty.

*

When Quentin is fifteen he learns that having a soul bond with someone else may not be a gift, and more of a curse. Already, he’s heard stories on the news of people killing themselves after their soulmate has died, not wanting to live on without their loved one beside them. Stories of how people can’t live with the feeling of incompletion if they haven’t yet found their soulmate. He learns that to love someone like that it’s not only blissful, it’s painful at the same time. He doesn’t understand.

*

When Quentin is sixteen, he begins to understand.


	2. the beginning

Quentin is jerked from his fitful sleep by a loud ringing of a doorbell. A glance at his alarm clock tells him that it is 7:45.

“Shit.” He mumbles.

He hears his mum’s voice and the door opening, but that’s all the warning he gets before the whirlwind that is Julia Wicker enters his bedroom. An exasperated look is thrown his way, but from the look in her eyes Quentin can tell that this is exactly what Julia expected.

“Q, c’mon, get up. School starts in half an hour!” She sweeps through the room chucking some clothes on his bed and then takes hold of his hands and pulls him up.

“Jules…I really don’t-”

But he’s cut off when she places a gentle finger to his lips. “I know you don’t want to. That doesn’t change a thing. It’s your first day at Brakebills and it’s going to be great, ok?”

Quentin nods, not trusting himself to say anything. He’d transferred from a different school due to multiple reasons, the main one being his depression. Though he wasn’t sure how a new school would really help, both his dad and Julia preached endlessly about ‘fresh starts’ and what not and he wasn’t really going to complain - everyone at his old school was a dick anyway.

“Get changed, I’ll be waiting outside,” Julia tells him softly, in that way she has that makes it sound like you really don’t have a choice in the matter.

Quentin changes quickly, throwing a hoodie on over the top and making sure, as always, that he tugs the sleeves down just enough so it covers the tiny deer on his wrist. There’s not much of a reason behind why he does it besides the odd feeling he gets if he walks down the street with the mark on show - it makes him feel exposed, vulnerable almost. It’s nothing Julia hasn’t seen before, though; she’d figured it out just weeks after he did. Quentin knows she envies it, he can see that look in her eye when she catches sight of it and, honestly, he wishes they could trade places.

To him the soulmark was just a burden; a task. Almost as if when he’d been born someone had decided that maybe they’d just make his life that tiny bit harder, give him this captivating goal but don’t give him any means of getting there. Julia, however, saw it as the complete opposite: a gift that she would savour and dedicate herself to. Quentin couldn’t help but think that there’d been a mistake.

He steps out of the bedroom to join Julia and together they make their way to Brakebills.

“Do you ever think that, like, maybe you’ll meet your soulmate today?” She asks curiously as they leave the house. Quentin blinks at her. She hardly ever brings up the topic of soulmates because she knows how he feels about them.

“Why would I think that? That could happen anyday.”

“No but it would make sense, right? You’re starting a new school, you’re going to meet loads of new people - what are the chances that one of them could be your soulmate?”

Quentin scoffs. “Very small.”

“Oh come on, Q. You know that-”

“Jules, please don’t.” Quentin says softly. “I really don’t want to be thinking about my soulmate right now.”

She turns to meet his eyes before ducking her head slightly, her brown hair falling to cover the side of her face. “Sorry, Q. I didn’t mean to set you on edge or anything.”

“S’ok.”

“But I don’t think it’s something you should be worried about.” She continues and _fucking hell he loves her but sometimes she doesn’t know when to shut up._

“Jules-”

“No! I’m just saying, you’ve been given this- this beautiful gift - why can’t you appreciate it?” She doesn’t say it harshly, just with a slight hint of sadness and exasperation in her tone.

“You know why I can’t.”

“Quentin,” Julia sighs quietly and he can tell that there’s no way he can get out of this. “What I’m saying is that I want you to be happy.”

He blinks. Admittedly, he hadn’t really been expecting that one.

“And your soulmark clearly isn’t helping that. But it should - God, it _should_ , Q. Your soulmark is beautiful, Quentin. I don’t care what you say - it’s beautiful. And- and you need to make the most of that because you’ve been given this rare, beautiful chance and you need to take it!”

Her eyes are sparkling and Quentin can see just how much this means to her but he can’t wrap his head around _why_. This is the first time they’ve properly spoken about his soulmark since they’d had an argument about it two years ago. Quentin can’t help but feel like it’s tempting fate.

“Jules, I don’t…”

She shakes her head tiredly. “I know, Q, I just wish you would _see_.”

“See what?” A voice pipes up.

Quentin jumps and turns around. He hadn’t even realised they’d reached the school until now and fiddles with the hem of jumper nervously as he turns to address the blonde girl with glasses who’d spoken.

“Hey Alice,” Julia greets warmly, all conversation about soulmates forgotten.

The girl gives a small smile back before turning to Quentin. “You must be Quentin.” She says shortly. How the hell is he supposed to answer that? His gaze drops to his hands and he nods nervously.

“Uhuh, yep, that’s me.”

Alice frowns slightly and cocks her head to the side, eyes searching. Quentin has no idea what to make of her.

“We’ve got quite a few classes together so I’ve been asked to show you around today.” She continues and this time offers him a friendly smile as well. He smiles tentatively back.

“And you’ll be joining us at lunch won’t you, Q?” Julia asks. He doesn’t want to but he nods anyway, if only for the relieved smile that passes over Julia’s face. “Good. I’m gonna have to go now but I’ll see you then, yeah?”

She moves forward and wraps Quentin in a tight embrace. “You’ll be fine, Q. No freaking out, ok?”

“Ok.” He murmurs into her shoulder, not wanting to let go. When Julia pulls back and hurries off, Quentin feels a strange sense of betrayal and his nerves come back in full force. How could she just leave him here like that? He doesn’t know _anyone_.

He can feel Alice’s eyes on him again, studying him as she chews her bottom lip slightly and he rapidly tries to calm himself.

“We should probably head in now as well.” She says, gesturing for him to follow her as she turns towards the school.

“Great.” Quentin mutters under his breath. He takes a deep breath and hurries after her, feeling an odd sense of fate as he steps through the large gates.


End file.
